Friday, April 6, 2007

Notes from the Red Sheds


A diary of happenings, philosophy, crafts, history, politics, penguins, bicycles and anything else that strikes my fancy centered on Oamaru Harbour. By Bill Blair.


Tucked into the south-east corner of the Oamaru Harbour next to the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony viewing centre is a bunch of old, red-painted sheds.

These are relics from the early days of the harbour in the 19th century and were the work sheds for harbour maintenance and the quarry which sits behind the site.

Back in 1995 Ken Mitchell, an amateur blacksmith and heritage enthusiast, discovered that the old harbour board blacksmith shop was still intact there complete with workable hearth and anvil.


The sheds were in a parlous state by then, used only for storage, and slowly disintegrating.


Ken persuaded the Waitaki District Council property manager to lease the sheds to him for a peppercorn lease in return for maintaining them and turning them into an asset, namely the genesis of a traditional crafts village.


Many of us toiled on working bees to repair, re-clad and repaint the sheds and over the last 12 years they have hosted a plethora of talented crafts people starting with Lindsay Murray, traditional boat-builder, and Alan Ward, architectural stone-carver.

In 1997 I decided to create "good work" for myself and started training myself as a traditional wood worker.


In 1998 I donned my tweeds and carried my shaving horse and draw knife into one of the Red Sheds to create my traditional wooden tools and be available as something interesting for visitors to see.


Over the past nine years in residence there I have been privileged to see the daily goings-on of the port and to host a continual stream of local and out of town visitors.


I’ve seen the resurgence of interest in the harbour with it now being listed as an historic place and also part of a potential world heritage site.


Developers have also discovered the harbour and this brings new challenges and dangers. Would we like a recreated, nineteenth century type harbour or do we want rampant growth of luxury apartments, restaurants, hotels, motels and marinas?


I think you might guess my preference from the way I’ve framed that question!

As the Coracle Oracle harbour "correspondent" I hope to report on such things and much more, not the least of which will be penguins since I share my working space with them most of the year which is why I have illustrated this inaugural column with a photo of two, fat, little blues sitting on a nest of wood shavings in my workshop waiting for their parents to return at night with a feed of fish.

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